Real Salt Lake FW Alvaro Saborio called to Costa Rican national team

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has announced that FW Alvaro Saborio has been called up to represent Costa Rica in an international friendly against Paraguay on March 5. The match will be held in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica and will kick at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Saborio will join the national team on Sunday and return to Real Salt Lake following Los Ticos’ match against Paraguay. Saborio is expected to be available for the Claret-and-Cobalt’s regular season opener against LA Galaxy on March 8.

Costa Rica qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup last fall after finishing second in the CONCACAF Hexagonal, four points behind the United States. Saborio appeared for the national team nine times – five of which were starts – in Costa Rica’s Hexagonal campaign. Saborio found the back of the net twice for Los Ticos during qualification, scoring in a 2-2 draw with Panama on Feb. 6, 2013 and providing the game-winner in Costa Rica’s 2-1 win over Mexico on Oct. 15, 2013. The RSL Designated Player has 107 career caps with the Costa Rica National Team, recording a total of 44 goals for his home country.

Saborio and RSL are currently wrapping up their final week of preseason at the Desert Diamond Cup preseason tournament in Tucson. Saborio powered RSL to victory on Wednesday night, scoring a pair of first half goals to lead the Claret-and-Cobalt to a 3-1 victory over USL-Premier Development League club FC Tucson. RSL will play its final Desert Diamond Cup match on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MT against MLS Western Conference foe Chivas USA. The Claret-and-Cobalt will return to Utah on Sunday, where it will begin preparations for the March 8 opener at LA.